[Review] My Fake Rake, by Eva Leigh

Title My Fake Rake
Series: Union of the Rakes #1
Author: Eva Leigh
Publisher: Avon
Number of pages: 384
Publication date: November 26th 2019

Synopsis:

In the first book in Eva Leigh's new Union of the Rakes series, a bluestocking hires a faux suitor to help her land an ideal husband only to be blindsided by real desire…

Lady Grace Wyatt is content as a wallflower, focusing on scientific pursuits rather than the complications of society matches. But when a handsome, celebrated naturalist returns from abroad, Grace wishes, for once, to be noticed. Her solution: to "build" the perfect man, who will court her publicly and help her catch his eye. Grace's colleague, anthropologist Sebastian Holloway, is just the blank slate she requires.

In exchange for funding his passage on an expedition leaving London in a few months, Sebastian allows Grace to transform him from a bespectacled, bookish academic into a dashing—albeit fake—rake. Between secret lessons on how to be a rogue and exaggerated public flirtations, Grace's feelings for Sebastian grow from friendship into undeniable, inconvenient, real attraction. If only she hadn't hired him to help her marry someone else...

Sebastian is in love with brilliant, beautiful Grace, but their bargain is complete, and she desires another. Yet when he's faced with losing her forever, Sebastian will do whatever it takes to tell her the truth, even if it means risking his own future—and his heart.

Review:

I received an eARC at no cost from the author, and I am leaving a voluntary and honest review. Thank you.

I really liked this book. This is a book for nerds, with nerds. Our couple is formed by Grace, a herpetologist (studies reptiles and amphibians), and Sebastian, an anthropologist. They’ve been friends for years, and they enjoy each other’s company. Sebastian has a huge crush on Grace, and Grace is slightly attracted to him, but neither one does anything about it.

Enter Mason Fredericks. He has money (which Seb doesn’t have), society loves him (Seb doesn’t do well in society), and he’s a fellow scholar with a similar field to Grace’s. She’s had a small crush on him for some time, and when her dad makes a request she can’t refuse, Grace asks Seb to help her get Mason’s attention.

Seb can’t say no to Grace. Even if it hurts him, he just wants to see her happy. And this is how he got himself in a situation where he’s helping the woman he loves, get another man.

Beta heroes, anyone? I have to say, each day I love them more and more. They are my kind of people.

I really liked how their relationship evolved from friends to lovers, which is one of my favourite tropes. Their relationship is based on love, friendship, and mutual respect – respect for each other, and their respective fields of study. It made me *swoon*.

It was interesting to see how they each dealt with their feelings, and how Sebastian sometimes was completely blind to how Grace was feeling, and vice-versa. There’s a lot of miscommunication in this book, which I’m not the biggest fan of, as this was pretty much the only thing stopping our couple of getting together, but we can overlook that for all the good stuff.

I also really enjoyed the companionship between the male characters of the Union of Rakes, as they support each other, no matter the circumstances. It’s the kind of friendship we all look up to. Which also means, I’m super excited to read the rest of the series!!!!

[Review] Bringing Down the Duke, by Evie Dunmore

Title: Bringing Down the Duke
Series: A League of Extraordinary Women #1
Author: Evie Dunmore
Publisher: Piatkus
Number of pages: 368
Publication date: September 3rd 2019

Synopsis:

A stunning debut for author Evie Dunmore and her Oxford Rebels, in which a fiercely independent vicar's daughter takes on a powerful duke in a love story that threatens to upend the British social order.

England, 1879. Annabelle Archer, the brilliant but destitute daughter of a country vicar, has earned herself a place among the first cohort of female students at the renowned University of Oxford. In return for her scholarship, she must support the rising women's suffrage movement. Her charge: recruit men of influence to champion their cause. Her target: Sebastian Devereux, the cold and calculating Duke of Montgomery who steers Britain's politics at the Queen's command. Her challenge: not to give in to the powerful attraction she can't deny for the man who opposes everything she stands for.

Sebastian is appalled to find a suffragist squad has infiltrated his ducal home, but the real threat is his impossible feelings for green-eyed beauty Annabelle. He is looking for a wife of equal standing to secure the legacy he has worked so hard to rebuild, not an outspoken commoner who could never be his duchess. But he wouldn't be the greatest strategist of the Kingdom if he couldn't claim this alluring bluestocking without the promise of a ring...or could he? Locked in a battle with rising passion and a will matching her own, Annabelle will learn just what it takes to topple a duke....

Review:

I had high hopes for this book, after having read very good reviews.

When I started to read it, I didn’t get why I wasn’t feeling the same as everyone else. I went to look at a few more reviews and found some people whom I agreed with. I just thought “ah, these are exactly my feelings”. And what feelings are those?

Well, Bringing Down The Duke is a book about a woman that wants to go to study at Oxford, but for that she has to join a Suffragist Society so that they’ll pay the tuition. I would have liked if Annabelle was more invested in the cause, because she behaved like it was a hard task to be part of it, like she was just doing it for the support at Uni. To be honest, I did not connect with her. For me, she was a bit annoying.

I mostly liked Sebastian, although he’s definitely not on my top list of heroes.

I don’t even know what else to say about the book, because it took me quite a bit of time to read it, and yet even though I finished it yesterday, I barely remember the story.

All in all, the book did not do it for me. It was just a plain romance, nothing much. It wasn’t bad, it just wasn’t great.

[Review] An Outlaw's Honor, by Terri Brisbin

Title An Outlaw's Honor
Series: Midsummer Knights #6
Author: Terri Brisbin
Publisher: Luckenbooth Press
Number of pages: 188
Publication date: July 7th 2020

Synopsis:

A Midsummer Knights Romance: A Tournament World of Chivalry, Intrigue, and Passion

When the only man she can trust is known for his dishonorable past, what could go wrong?

A Dishonorable Man
Thomas Brisbois of Kelso has only one goal when he arrives at the tournament—to defeat the only knight who ever bested him in battle. If he succeeds, the Scottish king will return to him his lands, his honor and his life. He has little interest in other prizes, and even less when he learns that the lord for whom his rival fights has included a daughter among the spoils at stake in their contest—a lovely daughter with no desire to play the pawn, or to see her father's champion win. She is a distraction, all the more after she explains her own ideas about which knight shall have her, and how and when.

A Desperate Woman
Annora may be a pawn in her father’s plans but she has no intention of letting that happen without a fight of her own. When she sees the frank desire in Thomas’ gaze for her, she makes her own offer—she’ll help him win if he’ll let her go... after he beds her. Her plans go awry when she discovers the truth of the man beneath the armor. The man who had lost everything and struggles to regain his life.

Only the ultimate tournament battle will reveal if she’s made the biggest mistake of her life or if she’s found the answer to all her problems in trusting an outlaw’s honor.

Review:

I received an eARC at no cost from the author, and I am leaving a voluntary and honest review. Thank you.

An Outlaw’s Honor is a novella in the series Midsummer Knights. I enjoyed this story, even though it left a few loose ends at the end.

The spark between Thomas, our hero, and Annora, our heroine, was palpable, but never scary. I really liked their connection.

The villain(s) is horrible! Le Govic is well thought, and the kind of person whom you definitely don’t want to meet, and that makes your skin crawl. I would have liked to know exactly what happened to him at the end of the tournament, just to make sure he wouldn’t hurt anyone else.

I liked the love story, even though sometimes it seemed… not very believable…?

In the end, I liked reading this novella, but that’s just about it.

[Review] Never If Not Now, by Madeline Hunter

Title Never If Not Now
Series: Midsummer Knights #7
Author: Madeline Hunter
Publisher: Barrowburgh Publishing
Number of pages: 147
Publication date: July 7th 2020

Synopsis:

A Midsummer Knights Romance: A Tournament World of Chivalry, Intrigue, and Passion

Summer, 1193.

They call him the Devil’s Blade and say that the fires of hell burn in him when he wields his sword.

It might be midsummer when Zander arrives at the tournament, but there is winter in his soul. Battle hardened and war weary, he intends to amass spoils, win the champion’s prize, and find a wealthy wife. Then he discovers that Elinor of York has accompanied her father to the tourney. He desired her as a youth, and soon learns that he still does. But whatever he will ever have of her will have to be seized in secret, before the tournament ends.

Elinor was born a lady but the last years have impoverished her. She now sews for coin, and takes care of her lame, aging father, a knight who blames Zander for his diminished fortunes and health. She should ignore the handsome knight whom she teased when they were young, but his magnetism draws her closer. He is not for her—he is her father’s enemy and she has no dowry. Yet he evokes sweet memories and deep emotions and a heart-wrenching dilemma— Can she keep her father from issuing the challenge that will leave one of the men she loves dead?

Review:

I received an eARC at no cost from the publisher, and I am leaving a voluntary and honest review. Thank you.

I can’t remember the last time I’ve read a Medieval Romance, and I know Madeline Hunter’s medieval were quite good, so I was excited to read this one.

However, it did not reach the expectations. It felt… rushed, and very neatly tided with a bow to finish off.

The beginning was good, and it told the connection between our main characters well, but it felt like they just picked up where they left all those years ago, as if nothing had changed.

The conflict was quite good, until it was resolved. So many repetitions about bravery, and cowardice, and then everything was just done with words…?

When I reached the end of the book, I just thought… “that’s it?” and I was quite disappointed, even for a novella...

Sadly, this was not a memorable story… The main characters, Zander and Elionor just didn’t click for me, and the conflict wasn’t really viable, in my opinion. It didn’t work.

[Review] The Devil of Downtown, by Joanna Shupe

Title The Devil of Downtown
Series: Uptown Girls #3
Author: Joanna Shupe
Publisher: Avon
Number of pages: 384
Publication date: June 30th 2020

Synopsis:

The final novel in Joanna Shupe's critically acclaimed Uptown Girl series about a beautiful do-gooder who must decide if she can team up with one of New York's brashest criminals without losing something irreplaceable: her heart.

Manhattan kingpin.
Brilliant mastermind.
Gentleman gangster.

He's built a wall around his heart...

Orphaned and abandoned on the Bowery's mean streets, Jack Mulligan survived on strength, cunning, and ambition. Now he rules his territory better than any politician or copper ever could. He didn't get here by being soft. But in uptown do-gooder Justine Greene―the very definition of an iron fist in a velvet glove―Jack may have met his match.

She wears hers on her sleeve...

Justine is devoted to tracking down deadbeat husbands and fighting for fair working conditions. When her mission brings her face-to-face with Jack, she's shocked to find the man behind the criminal empire is considerably more charming and honorable than many "gentlemen" she knows.

Forming an unlikely alliance, they discover an unexpected desire. And when Justine's past catches up with them, Jack may be her only hope of survival. Is she ready to make a deal with the devil...?

Review:

I received an eARC at no cost from the publisher, and I am leaving a voluntary and honest review. Thank you.

I loved this book so much I couldn’t even write the review when I finished as I was so excited I couldn’t keep still enough to actually sit in front of a computer.

When I finished The Devil of Downtown my first thought was… I want to read it again! That’s how much I loved it.

I’ve always loved a bad boy who is good for his love and/or has a heart of gold. Jack Mulligan… doesn’t have a heart of gold, but he does like Justine and he doesn’t want to see her hurt.

Jack Mulligan “rules” downtown New York. His character is based on a real man, Paul Kelly. Here is an image of Paul Jelly [on the left, image from wikipedia], and an image of Vincent Piazza [on the right], who plays Lucky Luciano on the tv series Boardwalk Empire, which the author, Joanna Shupe, has mentioned she used as an inspiration for Jack:

For fans of the series Pecky Blinders, Jack is also quite similar to Tommy Shelby, played by Cillian Murphy:

And if Jack Mulligan is the devil of downtown, Justine is the do-gooder, the angel. While he deals in favours, blackmail, and balance of power, she deals in the business of helping people just because they need it.

Justine works at an institution where she helps women whose husbands abandoned them and their children either return, or pay retribution. It’s in her work that she meets Jack, as one of the men employed by him abandoned his wife, and kids. Jack doesn’t like having someone talking to his employers, and he makes a deal with Justine that this man will pay to support his wife and children, if she owes him a favour, which he can collect at any point. She hates not knowing what might happen, but she has no other choice.

Jack respects Justine because she stands her ground, she challenges him – and she is able to do this because she knows Jack does not hurt women or children. She believes he will not break his “code”, but still Jack thinks she is incredible just by behaving like that. You go Justine!

All throughout the book there is this motto that Jack will corrupt Justine, that he’s a spider and will get her stuck in his web without her noticing. And, in a way… that does happen. But Justine realizes what happened and she didn’t like the person she was becoming. It was a heartbreaking scene. Have I mentioned I cried in this book? More than once, actually. But I still loved it!

They had such an amazing chemistry, Jack exudes sexiness, and Justine, whom most people considered plain, was like an avenging angel, and had this sexual energy that just appealed so much to Jack.

I know some people will not be happy with the end… but for me it was perfect. Because they both acknowledge that for them to be together, things have to change, at least slightly.

Although I’m an only child, I really connected with Justine, and understood her very well. And Jack just connected with me in all the right ways.

The sisters of the previous books are also in The Devil of Downtown, but I paid almost no attention to them. They were just plot points to make us understand Justine better, in my opinion.

I just loved this book so much, the essence of New York, and blackmail, and the power, and the sexiness.. It was pretty much perfect.



P.S. for anyone that would like to know more about New York, Jack Mulligan, Justine, and just gilded age history, Joanna Shupe did a life video on facebook, which you can watch HERE.